Cloud service providers (CSP) are companies that provide network services, infrastructure or business applications over cloud. Cloud services are hosted in companies that operate over network connections or a data center that can be accessed by individual users. The cloud service provider provide certain components of cloud computing such as infrastructure as a service (IaaS), software as a service (SaaS) or platform as a service (PaaS) to companies and individuals.

In general, cloud service providers make their offerings available as an on demand purchase. Additionally, customers can pay for the cloud based services on a subscription basis. Some cloud service providers have differentiated themselves by tailoring their offerings to a vertical market’s requirements. Their cloud based services might seek to deliver industry-specific functionality or help users meet certain regulatory requirements. For instance, several healthcare cloud products have been released that let healthcare providers store, maintain and back up personal health information security.